Palghar () is a town in the

Konkan division The Konkan division is one of the six administrative divisions of Maharashtra state in India. It comprises the northern and central portions of the greater Konkani region, which were absorbed into Maharashtra owing to the States Reorganisati ...

Maharashtra state Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdivi ...

, India and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

. It is in the

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (abbreviated to MMR and previously also as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai (Bombay) and its satellite towns in the northern Konkan division, of the Maharashtra state in we ...

, and since 2014 it has been the administrative capital of the

Palghar district Palghar District (Marathi pronunciation: aːlɡʱəɾ is a district in the state of Maharashtra in Konkan Division. On 1 Aug 2014, the State government of Maharashtra announced the formation of the 36th district of Maharashtra Palghar, it was ...

. Palghar lies on the Western Line of the

Mumbai Suburban Railway The Mumbai Suburban Railway ( Marathi: मुंबई उपनगरीय रेल्वे) (colloquially called local trains or simply locals) consists of exclusive inner suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines ser ...

in the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail corridor. The town is located about 87 kilometers north of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, about 35 kilometers north of

Virar Virar (Pronunciation: �iɾaɾ is a coastal city in taluka Vasai and district of Palghar, India. It is clubbed into Vasai-Virar city, administered by Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation. It lies in south part of Palghar District in Vasai Taluka ...

and about 24 kilometers west of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway at Manor.

History

Palgar's history is alternate with its old district Thane.

Jawhar Jawhar is a city and a municipal council in Palghar district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division of India. Jawhar was a capital city of the erstwhile Koli princely state of Jawhar. Situated in the ranges of the Western Ghats, Jawhar is k ...

, Vasai and Palghar

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

s have a historical legacy.

Vasai Vasai (Konkani and Marathi pronunciation: �əsəi formerly and alternatively Mahratti; ''Bajipur'', English: Bassein; Portuguese: Baçaim), is a historical place and City near Mumbai (Bombay)'s western suburbs, located in Palghar district w ...

(then known as Bassein) was under the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

Chimaji Appa Chimaji Balaji Bhat was born in a Chitpavan caste family in 1707 and died in 1740, commonly referred to as Appa or Bhau, was the son of Balaji Vishwanath, Balaji Vishwanath Bhat and the younger brother of Baji Rao I, Bajirao Peshwa of Maratha E ...

, the Maratha military commander later captured

Vasai fort Fort Vasai (Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaím) is a ruined fort of the town of Vasai (Bassein), Maharashtra, India. The structure was formally christened as the Fort of St. Sebastian in the Indo-Portuguese era. The fort is a monument of ...

from the Portuguese and embedded the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

flag on Vasai. Palghar was one of the important points in 1942 of the Chalejav campaign.

Demographics

At the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Palghar had a population of 68,930. Males numbered 36,523 (52.9%) and females 32,407 (47.1%). The literacy rate was 77.52%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy was 81.2% and female literacy 73.35%. 11.8% of the population was under 6 years of age.

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

is the most widely spoken language with

Warli The Warli or ''Varli'' are an indigenous tribe (Adivasi) of western India, living in mountainous as well as coastal areas along the Maharashtra-Gujarat border and surrounding areas. They are considered by some to be a sub-caste of the Bhil tribe ...

, Vadvali and Vanjari dialects. Small communities of Gujaratis and Muslims speak Gujarati and Urdu respectively. Palghar has an urban population of 33,086 thus about 48% of the total population lives in the urbanized area.

Culture

Kunbi Kunbi (alternatively Kanbi , Kurmi ) is a generic term applied to caste system, castes of traditional farmers in Western India. These include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa (Leva Patil), Lonare and Tirole communities ...

, Bhandari,

(

Adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...

), Katkari, Malhar Koli, Vanjari, Vadval, Mali (Sorathi) are the predominant castes in Palghar. The Vanjaris are a

nomadic tribe A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the pop ...

that have their roots in

Chittorgarh Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. Their language is distinct from standard Marathi as it has a high influence of Rajasthani and Gujarati. Vadval is the most numerous community present in Palghar. They are said to be the descendants of

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Sat ...

dynasty of Devagiri who established themselves here. They form one of the very few Marathi-speaking communities which belong to Kshatriya varna but not the traditional 96-clan ( 96 - Kuli)

caste.

Warli painting Warli painting is a form of tribal art mostly created by the tribal people from the North Sahyadri Range in Maharashtra, India. This range encompasses cities such as Dahanu, Talasari, Jawhar, Palghar, Mokhada, and Vikramgad of Palghar district ...

and famous Tarapa dance feature contribution towards art by the Warli community. Warli painting and art stretch back to a millennium. Warli art is also appreciated in foreign countries. Warlis represent the earliest settlers of the land around the present times and their culture has largely influenced the later cultures in and around the area. The

Koli Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...

(fishermen) community of Palghar is a reminder of the city's links with the Arabian sea. Fisheries form a large part of trade and diet of Palghar and also take up a major role in cultural events. The Kolis are further divided into subcastes such as Vaiti, Mangele, Bari, etc.

Art, crafts and tourism

Tourist attractions in the district include: * Arnala fort *

Vasai Fort Fort Vasai (Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaím) is a ruined fort of the town of Vasai (Bassein), Maharashtra, India. The structure was formally christened as the Fort of St. Sebastian in the Indo-Portuguese era. The fort is a monument of ...

Gambhirgad Gambhirgad Fort ( mr, गंभीरगड ) is a fort located 58 km from Dahanu, Palghar district, of Maharashtra. This fort is less important fort in Palghar district. The fort is in ruins and restoration is to be done. History Gambhir ...

* Kaldurg Fort * Kelwa Beach * Kamandurg Fort * Shirgaon Fort * Tandulwadi Fort *

Vajreshwari Vajreshwari also known as Vajrabai is a village situated near the Tansa River in the Bhiwandi taluk of Thane district, Maharashtra, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of c ...

hot water spring * Mahalakshmi Temple * Jivdani Mata temple * Bhavangad Fort

Economy

The economy of Palghar is largely the primary and tertiary sector. Palghar being the seat of Taluka and District, has many government offices and people working there. Agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries are practiced in abundance in the rural areas around the city and fuel the economy of the city. Palghar had also been a hub for wood smuggling in the post-independence era, a practice that has been largely curbed by the Forest department and police. Other than wood, the secluded beaches were known to attract smugglers trying to offshore their goods and enter Mumbai by road to avoid customs.

Education

The town has a number of schools and colleges, with more under construction to serve the increasing population. Palghar is the education hub of the area, with many students traveling from outside the town. The schools and colleges include: * Tarapur Vidya Mandir & Jr. College * Anand Ashram English High School * Aryan English High School * Aryan High School Plaghar * Bhagini Samaj High School * Chanakya the global school , Palghar

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

* Holy Spirit English High School Palghar * Ideal Group of Colleges, Wada Maharashta * Jeevan Vikas High School Palghar * Kenam English High School Palghar * National College, Palghar * Raising Star high school, Palghar * Sacred heart English High School, Palghar * Sir JP International school CSE* Sonopant Dandekar Arts, V.S. Apte Commerce & M.H. Mehta Science College Palghar * Sonopant Dandekar Shikshan Mandali * St. John College of Engineering and Technology * St. John College of Humanities and Sciences * St. John Institute of Pharmacy and Research * St.John College of Technical Institute * Sundaram Central School & Junior College

BSE BSE may refer to: Medicine * Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, a neurodegenerative disease of cattle * Breast self-examination Stock exchanges * Bahrain Stock Exchange, Bahrain * Baku Stock Exchange, Azerbaijan * B ...

* Surya Valley School * twinkle Star English High School Palghar * Yashwantrao Chaphekar Jr.College of Arts, Commerce & Science * Z.P. Anjuman Urdu School, Palghar * Dr. M. L. Dhawale Memorial Homoeopathic Institute and Hospital, A Centre of Excellence in Homoeopathy declared by

Ministry of AYUSH The Ministry of Ayush, a ministry of the Government of India, is responsible for developing education, research and propagation of traditional medicine systems in India. Ayush is a name devised from the names of the alternative healthcare syste ...

Transport

Palghar is well connected via road and rail transport. Palghar acts as a divisional head of

Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation abbreviated as (MSRTC, or simply ST), is the state run bus service of Maharashtra, India which serves routes to towns and cities within Maharashtra as well as to its adjoining states. It has a flee ...

, which provides direct connectivity to several towns across Maharashtra and Gujarat, including

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

Vapi Vapi ( IAST: vāpī,), is a city and municipality in Valsad district in the state of Gujarat, India.It is situated near the banks of the Daman Ganga River, around 28 km south of the district headquarters in the city of Valsad, and it is ...

Valsad Valsad (Pronunciation: �alsɑɖ (Gujarati: વલસાડ), historically known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the district headquarters of Valsad district. The city of Valsad ...

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

Bharuch Bharuch (), formerly known as Broach, is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District. The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since tim ...

Ankleshwar Ankleshwar (sometimes written Ankaleshwar) is a city and a municipality in Bharuch district in the state of Gujarat, India. The city is located 14 kilometres from Bharuch. Ankleshwar Industrial Association (AIA) is the largest organisation of ...

, Anand,

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Miraj Miraj (Pronunciation: iɾəd͡z ) is a city in Sangli District and also in Maharashtra, India, that was founded in the early 10th century. It was an important jagir of the Adil Shahi court of Bijapur. Shivaji Maharaj stayed in Miraj for ...

Sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks o ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, Vaduj,

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...

Ulhasnagar Ulhasnagar is a city in Thane district, Maharashtra, India. This city is a part of Mumbai Metropolitan Region managed by MMRDA. It had an estimated population of 506,098 at the 2011 Census. Ulhasnagar is a municipal city and the headquarters of ...

Bhiwandi Bhiwandi () is a city in the Thane district in Maharashtra, India. It is located northeast of Mumbai and northeast of the city of Thane. The city is a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Bhiwandi is a commercial city and a major trade ce ...

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is th ...

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...

Kalyan Kalyan (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) ...

, Alibag,

Nandurbar Nandurbar is a city and a municipal council in Nandurbar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Nandurbar municipal corporation is the first municipal corporation. Nandurbar is an administrative district ...

Bhusaval Bhusawal is the largest municipal council (established in 1882) in the Jalgaon district of the Indian state of Maharashtra, situated along the banks of the river Tapi. The city emerged as a major railway junction during the British Raj, and st ...

Shirdi Shirdi (; also known as Sainagar) is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Rahata taluka of Ahmednagar District. It is accessible via the Ahmednagar–Malegaon State Highway No.10, approximately from Ahmednagar and ...

, and

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...

Palghar railway station Palghar railway station (station code: PLG) is a railway station on the Western Railway line of Mumbai Suburban Railway. Palghar is the headquarters of the Palghar district in India's Maharashtra state, which comes under the Mumbai metropolit ...

is an important railway station on the Western Line of the

, and the Ahmedabad–Mumbai main line. Along with Shuttle/

Memu On Indian Railways, the MEMUs are electric multiple unit (EMU) trains that serve short and medium-distance routes in India, as compared to normal EMU trains that connect urban and suburban areas. The acronym stands for Mainline Electric Multiple ...

EMU The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

(local trains) services, many long-distance trains also stop here.

Sports

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

is the most popular sport in Palghar. Local tournaments are held at various locations in the district. *

Shardul Thakur Shardul Narendra Thakur (born 16 October 1991) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a bowling all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls right arm medium pace. Domestic career Thakur was initially criticized for his lack of height for ...

is a cricketer from Palghar (Mahim) who plays for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, for

Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is owned by India ...

in the

IPL The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

and for

in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

. * Aditya Tare is a

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

and a right-hand batsman from Palghar (Satpati village) who plays for

Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians are a franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League and is the most successful team of the tournament with 5 titles. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India's biggest conglo ...

in the IPL and for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Palghar district